Eileen Musser, Realtor, Ecobroker, Epro

Hi Rhonda,

South Central Pa has lots of those great little towns, as Mim says.

If you would like to talk with about your needs and motivation we might be able to come up with a good solution for you. Some home owners are now willing to rent a home to you that you could buy in a couple of years. I know of one like that in Dover, although that might be too far north for you.

If you decide to write to me let me know a little about your price range, what style of home you like, whether you would be willing to rent or buy a townhome or condo, or if you specifically want a detached home.

The other day I noticed that a builder is listing a couple of his new homes for rent. That is another angle you might want to check on.

Wishing you the best!
Eileen's Green Team at Gateway - Tue Nov 11 2008, 06:38

Sell out your integrity for a lousy check mark?!? Crazy. Times are tough, but not that tough, thank you! - Mon Oct 27 2008, 10:42

Good question!
The simple answer is that lower level space is not counted in the square footage.

However, there has been so much resistance to that idea that most MLS systems now have several fields for square footage measurements.

Much of Central Pa. now shows "finished sq ft above grade" "finished sq ft below grade", Total sq ft, and unfinished sq ft above and below grade.

Even with those choices there is some resistance to the appraisers' method of counting the lower levels of split foyer (bi-level), and split level homes as below grade, and many of the listings in York County, at least, are showing bi-levels as if the finished lower level is above grade. It isn't the right way to measure, but it is becomming such common practice that many of us have given up and are listing them that way just to keep our listings competative.

When I list bi-levels I have started putting a note into the comments to explain how I have measured.

Now to complicate matters more, there is a glitch in the auto-fill part of the latest update to a commonly used program, and many homes are shown with part of the square footage added twice. It is not uncommon to see a bi-level that you know is 1100 or 1200 square feet, listed as over 2000. Unfortunately, agents and their staff are not always catching this mistake in the automated system.

My main point is that you cannot blindly accept the square footage measurement that you see in the MLS listing. If it is important to you confirm by measuring, or by checking the tax records, etc.

If you are having an appraisal done, have your agent try to find a way to confirm the accuracy of the measurements used in the comps. This is a real "hot button" issue for me right now because I see so much confusion on the subject. - Mon Oct 27 2008, 04:12

Hi Steve,

Scott has given you some good advice. You might also want to address what happens to the sale price for the home if an appraisal done a year from now shows a value that will not support the sale price that you have agreed to today.

I would think that the bank will write the loan only if the value remains high enough to be within their requirements for loan to current value.

Here are a couple of other questions that I suggest you ask:
1. Can she document with some certainty that she will be getting the settlement she is anticipating? Settlements from divorce, wrongful death, injury, inheritance, and permanent disability cases are often smaller than anticipated, and often arive much later than the recipient expects.
2. Will you have a monthly shortfall? If your monthly payment is $2100 and she is paying you $1500 then you have a decicit of $7200 per year before you consider any depreciation that may occur in the year. If you would reduce the price by $10,000 would the home sell now? If so, I think you should seriously consider selling.
3. Do you know the tax ramifications of doing a lease purchase or a rent to own. When you sell you will be asked if you have had any rental income from the property. Your answer to that question will determine whether you have any taxes due on your profits.
4. Who will manage the property while this person is renting from you? Will you be nearby to collect the rents and to monitor the condition of the home? How will you know if the home is being maintained in its current condition? If this person does not buy the property at the end of the option time, will you have a harder time selling it because there is a renter in place, or because the condition had deteriorated?
5. Last question.... Has the home been on the market with a Realtor, or have you been going it on your own? It is unfortunate, but true that homes are not selling based on what the seller needs to clear. The homes that are selling are the ones that are priced with full consideration of their value on TODAY's market. I recently showed a home to a client that had been on the market one day. We did not even have a chance to write an offer because the home had been viewed by 11 parties in the first day and three offers had been written. One of the buyers was out of town for the day and could not get back in time to see the home and write an offer.
It is just not true that homes are not selling. What IS true is that homes are not selling for the price that some sellers want. A home in York County that is in great condition, priced right and marketed well WILL sell.

Eileen's Green Team at Gateway - Fri Oct 24 2008, 08:26

Will you be renting just through the winter, or are you looking for a longer term than that?

If you will contact me off-line I will be happy to chat with you by email and see what might be out there that would work for you. I have some specific questions and suggestions.

eileen@gatewayrealtyinc.com - Thu Oct 23 2008, 08:33

I have a cottage on the river that is not TOO far from Lewisberry that rents for $900 in the winter and $1200 in summer months. There you are paying a little premium for the waterfront home. You will find that sort of factors effecting the rent price in other areas as well - Wed Oct 22 2008, 09:06

This is a pretty hard question to answer with so few details on what you want. You get almost nothing for under 650 or so per month, and you can get a very nice 2000 sq foot detached home for under 2000.

If you will let me know what you are looking for I will be happy to give you more details

Eileen@gatewayrealtyinc.com
Eileen's Green Team at Gateway - Wed Oct 22 2008, 09:01